KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The glass slipper for this year's installment of the NAIA National Championship may have found the perfect fit, as the No. 7 seeded William Jessup University Warriors (19-10) defeated the heavily favorited No. 2 seed Pikeville Bears 82-69. In what was a seesaw battle for all 40-minutes, Jessup played their cards right and finished on the uptick as they move one game closer to a National Championship.

"I would like to give a congratulations to Pikeville for a terrific season," said head coach Lance Von Vogt moments after the game. "They are a terrific team. You don't do what they do every year and have the success that they've had without a guy like coach (Kelly) Wells."

Jessup came out rolling to start the game Thursday, placing together a nice 8-4 run right out of the gates. The Warriors saw some big plays early thanks to a fast break 3-pointer from senior Saajid Polite (Sacramento, CA), and then a three-point-play from junior Micheal Patterson who was fouled while tipping in a second chance opportunity.

With Pikeville looking to have gained some momentum after trimming the lead to two, Jessup head coach Lance Von Vogt decided to use a 30-second timeout. Out of the timeout, the Warriors charged on to a 7-0 run to pull ahead by nine. The end of the run was capped off with a 3-pointer from senior Brenton Muldrow, causing Bears' head coach Kelly Wells to use a timeout of his own.

One of the key contributors to the Pikeville offense all season has been K.K. Simmons. Simmons was hard to stop early on Thursday, totaling 13 first half points. The play of Simmons played a large part in a 16-6 run by Pikeville which resulted in the Bears taking their first lead since 2-0.

The Warriors quickly retied the game at 24-24 thanks to a pair of free throws from senior Desmond Floyd (Gilbert, AZ), but the wheels began to fall off shortly afterward as the Bears charged on to a 10-0 run to take a double-digit lead. Jessup would end the run in the final seconds of the half, sending the game into the break trailing 36-28.

A key reason for Jessup's first half woes was their work from behind the arc. Coming off of a game in which the Warriors went 0-of-13 from deep, Jessup produced just an 18-percent (2-of-11) showing from three-point land in the first half.

Jessup did not start the second half on the right foot, as they found themselves with five fouls less than three minutes into the new frame. Pikeville abused the fact that they were given an abundance of trips to the charity stripe, connecting on 17-of-7 from the line in the final 20-minutes alone.

After finding themselves down by 12, Jessup began to go to work and trim the deficit to just four points. It was only moments later that the big switch in the game occurred, as momentum shifted entirely in the Warriors' favor, and it would stay there for the rest of the night.

The big factor in the momentum shift was a 13-0 run by the Warriors to take a 54-47 lead, forcing Wells to call another timeout. The run was started by back-to-back three-point plays by Patterson and senior Corey Clement (Las Vegas, NV), and was finished off with a corner three from junior Kelton Newman (Elk Grove, CA).

"During the timeout, the message to the guys was to not take our foot off the peddle. We had them on their heels and we just needed to keep our foot on the gas and finish the game out strong," said Von Vogt.

Like in the first half, the Bears started giving the ball to Simmons who continued to find the basket and chip the deficit to as little as three. However, for the final five minutes of the game Jessup managed to keep Simmons silent, but he did manage to finish the with a game-high 23 points.

Thanks to, in large part, some great post play, Jessup was able to build back up their lead and place the game in a situation where they were in total control. The Warriors won a number of battles in the game, including outrebounding Pikeville, who has the number two rebounding margin in the nation, 38-34. The physical dominance down low, aided by an incredible 54 second half points were enough to secure an 82-69 victory.

"We showed toughness, resiliency, and when we needed to, we went into attack mode," said Von Vogt. "We're a very physical team, and we knew this would be a heavy hitter, big boy type of game…This is the style of basketball we like, and we enjoy playing a team who is as physically challenging as us."

Floyd finished the game leading the Warriors with 20 points, connecting on 9-of-16 from the field while also bringing down 20 rebounds.

"I've been thinking about this for a long time," said an emotional Floyd after the win. "This is my senior season and I'm not trying to cut it short. I've been doing whatever I can to keep us in the tournament and help my team win."

"(Pikeville) had a lot of fight, and we needed to be physical in order to grab rebounds. I'm undersized, so my physicality is the thing that helped me tonight, and I just need to bring that every other game."

Behind the play of Floyd was Clement who produced a solid double-double, scoring 18 points while racking up a game-high 14 boards. Patterson was solid in a number of categories, shooting a perfect 4-of-4 from the line in route to a 14-point game.

With the victory, Jessup advances to the second round of the 2016 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Championships. Their opponent is still to be determined, as they will take on the winners of the game between Mid-America Nazarene and Oklahoma City.

The second round matchup will take place tomorrow, Friday March 18, at 8:00 p.m. (CT). The game will take place in the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, MO, and can be viewed online on the NAIA Network.

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William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook), @WJUSports (Twitter), and @JessupAthletics (Instagram, and Snapchat).